(Closed) To keep in tradition – auctioning the Groom’s tie?

We are tryng to infuse some tradition into our reception as I have strong cultutal ties with my european background & doing things slightly ‘modern’. Mum mentioned that (& google has confirmed) that it is customary that the groomsmen cut bits off the grooms tie & auction it off during the reception. According to research it appears this may have been done instead of gifts; we are thinking of going ahead but doing ‘low bids’ (50c / $1) more for the novelty/entertainment & involving the older generation rather than ‘raising money’. If the MC explains the reasoning for the ‘younger gen’ would you think it will be a bit of fun /well received?

(the other suggestion made was to pass around the bride’s shoe for guests to stuff money into – i don’t think so…..!)

Thanks ladies – if we were to go ahead, i really wouldnt want to be seen gift grabby, so maybe lowering the increments to 20c & cutting the price at a couple of dollars or something small…

This tradition came to light from Mum, so i didn’t go looking for it as such… sounds like grandparents have fond memories of it at their wedding…so i would consider it cultural.. What attracts me to it is that not many ppl have heard of it – myself, nor any of my friends – but willing to make changes so that it can be seen in fondness / holding tradition as opposed to gift grabbing

How many people of that older generation will be at your wedding? If there will be a lot and you feel confident that they’ll be happy to see this at your wedding, then I say go ahead. But if it’s mostly a younger crowd with just a few older people, I wouldn’t expect many to participate and it may end up being a let down since it’s a ‘tradition’ that they’re totally unfamiliar with.

Why would anyone want a useless piece of a tie? The whole concept is just strange to me. I get that it may be cultural but unless the vast majority of your guests are aware of this tradition, I think they’ll just find it really weird. And who brings loose change to a wedding? I really can’t picture this going over well. As for the brides shoe, yea, no. That gets a thumbs down from me, too. Far too gift grabby for my comfort.

According to a wedding etiquette book I recently read: In yea olden times it was susperstition that it was good luck to get a piece of the bride/grooms clothes. Apparently things could get pretty crazy with mad crowds of people pulling off pieces of the clothing. This is where the tradition of the garter toss and bouquette too started – a little piece thrown to the crown to apease them so they wouldn’t tear the couples clothes to shreds. I’d bet this tie tradition has similar roots. I’ve certainly never heard about it, but it could be fun. Maybe plant some friends and family that you know will bid?